Distributed Systems Architectures

Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of at least 2 distributed system architectures.

Use examples to illustrate your points.

Solution Preview

Distributed System

A distributed system also known as distributed computing consists of a collection of autonomous computers, connected through a network and distribution middleware, which enables computers to coordinate their activities and to share the resources of the system, so that users perceive the system as a single, integrated computing facility. Wikipedia defines it as "a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple computers that communicate through a computer network [1]".

The purpose of distributed systems is to divide the main task into multiple sub-tasks and each of these tasks is solved by the systems present in the network. The characteristic which separates a distributed architecture from centralized architecture are:

1. Multiple autonomous components
2. Components are not shared by all users
3. Resources may not be accessible
4. Software runs in concurrent processes on different processors
5. Multiple Points of control
6. Multiple Points of failure

The fundamental components in a distributed system may consist of [2]:

1. Operational Platform: It provides a raw material on which the system will run. The tools on the operational platform can be used to run the raw material. These raw materials could be web services, web pages, and applications etc. The servers and other such systems can be used as operational platform.
2. Deployment: It deals with setting up the application components onto the servers and controlling ...

Solution Summary

The expert describes the fundamental components of a distributed system. The advantages and disadvantages of at least two distirbuted system architectures are determined.